The present invention relates to a video recording/reproducing apparatus having a function of reproducing a digest (i.e., an abridgement) of contents recorded, and it relates to, in particular, means for controlling a view of commercial message (hereinafter, being abbreviated by “CM”).
In recent years, because of widely spreading of a home-use television broadcast recording/reproducing apparatus installing therein a hard disk drive (HDD) therein and/or a personal computer being added with a television broadcast recording/reproducing function, it is possible to record and store a large number of programs therein.
Then, from a viewpoint of viewing the programs recorded, effectively, there are developed a several technologies for producing an abridgement (or a digest) of broadcast.
As an example of such an abridging technology, there is already known a technology, i.e., a CM cut function.
However, in case when using this CM cut function, a problem is caused that, for a program provider (i.e., a sponsor) who provides a fund for production of the program, it is impossible to obtain an effect of CM advertisement.
Then, for dissolving such the problem, as a technology for letting the CM to be viewed, the technology is developed, which is disclosed in Japanese Patent Laying-Open No. 2003-163865 (2003), for example. This technology relates to a CM presentation method of presenting the CM by a predetermined number thereof, when a viewer views a main program edited. With recording the number of times of CM presentations made, reproduction of the main program edited is stopped, temporarily, when the CM presentation does not reach to a predetermined number of times, and then the reproduction of the main program edited is restarted, but after presenting the CM by a number of times remaining until when it reaches to the predetermined number of times; thereby maintaining the chances of presenting the CM to the viewer.